Adjustment of Status - I-485

Hi all,

**I just spent the past hour writing a long post only to lose everything when I submitted & my session expired. Then another hour trying to retrieve it but to no avail. I'll try to re-create it but is now saddened by my wasted time & effort**

I've been reading posts on this forum silently for several months now. It has undoubtedly given me the guidance and hope one needs in this journey. And I promised myself that once I overcome this phase that I will write a post to share our experience (my husband and mine) in hopes that it will provide inspiration to those who are still in this process.

PREVIOUS STATUS:
Me – J1 to F1 (MBA) and worked with CPT
Husband – a permanent resident for 7 years (petitioned by his father) who was once arrested because of a misdemeanor 3 years back in California

TIMELINE:
March 2015 – I married my childhood sweetheart. I was studying in New York so he moved to be with me
*We struggled to find a lawyer that will take his case in New York since his misdemeanor case is under the California Penal Code and not many NY-based law practitioners are familiar with it. So we ended up going for a lawyer he found in California*
June 2015 - We submitted his application for Naturalization in California
July 2015 – He flew to California for Biometrics
September 2015 – He flew to California for his interview. During his interview in San Bernardino, the officer put the application pending for review and requested for the copy of police report during his arrest. His lawyer pondered but decided not to because it will ruin his good moral character aspect and may jeopardize his future chances.
November 2015 – His naturalization was officially denied
December 2015 – He filed for my I-130 (We did not file right away because we focused on his naturalization with hopes that we’ll get an expedited process once he becomes a citizen, unfortunately, it did not work that way)
January 2016 – I found a lawyer through a friend whom I had a consultation with and shared my husband’s failed attempt for naturalization. They said they will take his case if he is willing to re-apply so we did and was able to re-submit application by end of month but this time in New York
April 2016 – We received the approval for I-130. At about the same time, he went through the naturalization interview.
May 2016 – His naturalization was approved and he did his oath taking
June 2016 – We submitted his naturalization certificate and application for I-485, I-131 & I-765.
July 2016 – I did my biometrics
August 2016 – I received by combo card (EAD with Advance Parole)
**A long silence as I check on status on a daily basis**
February 2017 – received letter with schedule for interview
April 5, 2017 – we had the interview – approved after 30 minutes
April 12, 2017 – received permanent green card valid for 10 years!

Putting our experience and journey in timeline format seem to be simple and smooth yet many of you can attest to the amount of effort, time & money goes to this. Not to mention the emotional rollercoaster we are in with the waiting, disappointments and frustrations we face coupled with buckets of tears thinking of the unknown just wishing to reach the finish line.

To make things worse, right about the time when he got his citizenship, my husband started cheating on me. He started this affair with one of his colleagues at work. I was beyond devastated and had confronted him. He denied my allegations and continued to lie to me. But I saw proof – text conversations of them talking about their sexual encounters, pictures & videos of them doing the deed. I was horrified to be in such a demoralizing relationship. He kept on feeding me lies which I accept in hopes of saving our marriage. He would say he needs to work early or late or stay overnight only to find out he’s with his mistress. I started losing myself with the thought that I am being treated like a trash. I cried every night and begged many times, to him and even to his mistress, but the affair continued. I was losing my sanity, I was broken. For months on end I was experiencing mental, emotional and yes, even physical abuse when confrontations get out of hand. There was that one time when he was choking me and in my neck and I did not fight him and just let him as I was thinking that I would rather die than keep living a life like that. I was on the verge of giving up but the few people who knew of my situation advised I seek the advice of a lawyer for practical reasons. I was a few months away from the interview and one prominent female lawyer who was once an immigrant herself heard my story and provided me legal advice for free (her consultations are $500 at least) – she was such an angel. She presented the option of VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) but with me being months away from the interview and the big possibility of the interview being after our 2nd wedding anniversary which will give me permanent instead of conditional, her practical advice is to suck it up. It had been extremely difficult with him treating me like a piece of shit, him treating his mistress as if she’s the wife and all I am is a pest who needs him at the time for my papers (around this time I completed my MBA program and is relying on the EAD to work). He would every now and then threaten me that he will pull the petition or say I tricked him into marrying me for his papers to get me in trouble with USCIS. To the very last minute of our interview, I was nervous he’ll screw me over on purpose. I’ve seen on this forum several brave souls who opened their hearts and shared their struggles similar to mine, to you all – THANK YOU! Your stories have helped me get through some of the most difficult phases along with prayers and support from my family who are mostly miles away from me and good friends to helped me focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. My friends, I know the sacrifices you have and are currently going through, but God knows the ones with a pure heart who suffers unfairly, keep faith that He will make all these worth it.

God bless you all my fellow dreamers and immigrants! Hang in there, success and freedom will soon come. Prayers & well wishes to you all!

<3